


Have a Great Life (You Jerks)!

by Sharyrazade



Series: Children of Men - Fallen PT AU [5]
Category: Catherine (Video Game), Persona 3, Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Angst, Denial of Feelings, Depression, Emotional Constipation, Explicit Language, F/F, F/M, Healthy Relationships, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Intrusive Thoughts, Jealousy, Post-Canon, Pre-Relationship, Self-Pity, Snark, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Unhealthy Relationships, Unrequited Crush, Wedding Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-09
Updated: 2018-08-09
Packaged: 2019-06-10 06:23:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15285621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sharyrazade/pseuds/Sharyrazade
Summary: This was supposed to be a happy occasion, dammit! Everyone kept going on and on about just how romantic and magical Ann's wedding to Akira was or was going to be. So why did she feel so utterly miserable?





	Have a Great Life (You Jerks)!

As far as climate was concerned, the island was often compared to Hawaii by foreign visitors often enough; with the man and woman of the hour and their fondness for the islands, the choice of a certain upscale hotel in Naha City for the reception and festivities was less-than-surprising. The fact of the matter was, Makoto Niijima was rather relieved to be out of the sticky, humid conditions. Although, in leaving the afternoon's heat behind, Makoto found herself stepping into the fire, so to speak, said "fire" the hotel lobby hosting a visibly-excited blonde woman some twenty-five years old clad in white silk wedding finery.

Ann Takamaki squealed in delight and anticipation. "Ohmaigawd, ohmaigawd, ohmaigawd, Makoto!" she exclaimed, embracing her old friend. "You made it after all!"

"Of course, I wouldn't miss it." she lied. "Work has just been so crazy, but I still found the time." _Unfortunately._

"Sorry for pouncing on you like that, I'm just SOOOOO excited! Shiho and Haru both told me the dress looked just awesome, but I wasn't entirely sold on it until the rehearsal. Sooooooooooo, what do you think?"

Makoto forced a smile. "It looks great."  _Oh, I bet you're excited; Wearing_ _white, really? It's more than a bit of false advertising, isn't it?_

Of course oblivious to her friend's less-than-complimentary internal berating, the boisterous bride continued on. "Even though I'd never really seen him in formal wear, Akira was, of course, absolutely rocking the tux. He just looked so smooth and- well, damned hot in it!"

To some deep, dark part of Makoto's soul, absurd as she knew it was, it felt almost like Ann was _gloating_ over her misery. Only for a second, that same part of Makoto forced her to wonder just how much better that cheerful, blushing bride would look with her two front teeth knocked out, blood from her mouth staining that very expensive wedding dress.

Fortunately, one party, a younger man distinguished by his ambiguous age and shimmering blue eyes made his appearance in the room. "Ah, and the star of the evening!" he exclaimed, taking Ann's hand and kissing it gently. "Oh, and Makoto is here as well!"

"I still don't believe you that Akira was ever nervous about this." Ann replied lightly. "He's just always so cool about everything!"

The man chuckled. "Well, like he always says, you're his only weakness, Lady Ann."

"Hello, Morgana." she answered huffily. "Enjoying the festivities?"

"You haven't been? I was under the impression that you were accompanying me. I've been here since nine this morning!"

Makoto gave a fake cough. "Well, I kind of...got lost." she half-fibbed. _On purpose._

The phone on his belt chimed, causing said eyes to roll as he looked upon the text message. "Ugh, Ryuji!" Morgana groaned. "How on earth does he manage to misplace- Be sure to give my regards to the others!"

With this, the man departed, seeking to put out a fire threatening his best friend's wedding. "I still can't believe he turned out to be human after all." Makoto remarked. "A sleazy one, but a human nonetheless." _I'm starting to think that's just a feature of half of them._

"Oh, no, not denying that for a second!" Ann replied. "But he's still been a big help in planning this wedding. Says it's the least he can do for his 'brother,' Akira."

"So the others haven't arrived yet?"

Starting to count off on her fingers, Ann recalled the arrivals of their old circle of acquaintances as best she could. "Well, Shiho and Haru got in yesterday like I mentioned, Ryuji, Futaba, and Sojiro earlier in the morning, and Yusuke isn't..."

Appropriately enough, the couple their own age emerging from the revolving door was not so unusual due to their very traditional formal wear or her pregnancy now starting to be somewhat visible so much as his struggle to fit a full-sized easel through aforementioned door, at which the woman sighed in disappointed confusion. "I don't see why you didn't just bring the collapsible easel back from the room." she remarked.

"We had no time!" the eccentric artist insisted. "As if I was going to let such a marvelous, momentous day pass without my tools to record it in its full glory!"

The bride's face lit up at the guests' identities becoming clear beyond any shadow of a doubt. "Yusuke, Hifumi!" she exclaimed, nearly knocking the couple over with the force of her hug. "You made it!"

The shogi queen's face reddened slightly. "W-well, of course we were going to attend." she replied calmly. "After all, he's done so much for the both of us, it would feel wrong even considering not to!"

 _Like offing your mother, you murdering bitch?_ Makoto thought savagely.

"Milady speaks the truth." Yusuke reiterated with a light bow. "In lieu of a mere material gift, I shall endeavor to compose the finest portrait of the bride and groom this world has seen!"

 _Oh, shut up about your art, you weirdo! Nobody cares!_ she thought just as savagely.

However, Makoto's real irritation was to come a few seconds later, when Ann, gasping in adoring anticipation, noticed Hifumi's now-noticeable pregnancy. "Ohmaigawd!" she exclaimed, massaging her slightly expanded midsection. "With all this wedding craziness, I almost forgot!"

"It's...been an adventure, so far." Hifumi remarked. "But it's worth it, of course."

Ann beamed. "Soooooo....have you two decided on any names yet?!"

"Well, if it's a girl, Sayuri is of course, one of our first choices." Yusuke interjected.

The expecting mother seemed to be considerably more at ease now, perhaps due to Makoto have momentarily turned her ire on her husband. "And for boys, while they maybe kind of old-fashioned, I've always been fond of the classics; Nobunaga, Masamune, Goemon, Ryoma and the like."

"You two must be so freaking excited! I can't WAIT to be a mom!"

 _No, that works perfectly for my tastes. Just ignore the future cat lady, you thoughtless jerks._ Makoto thought bitterly.

 

 Reuniting with her other teammates scarcely did her mood much better. In fact, now that she thought about it, Makoto felt even worse! How?! HOW are they all so cheerful and happy when she was absolutely fucking miserable? It just made no sense! Then again, Haru seemed to actively be avoiding her, and even in this hazy, far-less-rational-than-she'd-like state of mind, Makoto knew damn well it would be an awful idea to seek out the three remaining members of her team for varying reasons. In spite of how much Makoto had done for her when they'd first met, in recent years, she and that arrogant, power-hungry, ungrateful little bitch had become more and more at odds, and she had little appetite for what had a not insignificant chance in ending in a physical altercation with Futaba and her brainless boytoy. In fact, that semi-maniacal gleam of anticipation she got in her eyes honestly reminded her more than a bit of- No, no, that's a horrible thing to think, she scolded herself (Even if Futaba in those moments DID remind her of the most sinister figure they'd ever encountered as a group).

And as for Akira? Well, even in this haze, she knew fully well that the only thing she could reasonably expect to accomplish was to make an even bigger fool of herself, whether with him privately or before their steadily-increasing number of guests, Makoto admitted to herself. In spite of herself, she could not help but manage an awkward grin at the sheer irony of being a woman so fastidious in planning every facet of her future, yet wishing she could be more impulsive. That seemed to be a pattern with her matters concerning Akira, she'd noticed.

But when the festivities began in earnest, the crowd of guests, seated politely as they were, seemed to inexplicably mock the prodigy with their obedient attention paid; from Akira's entrance in the main hall (fuck, she may have been an airhead, but she was absolutely right about the tuxedo!) to Mr. Takamaki walking his daughter down the aisle, a part of Makoto felt as if the other guests were making light of her misery due to the assent such obedience implied. And even Akira himself seemed to be in on it, if not conducting the sick symphony himself as he removed the silk veil from his bride's face, prompting an less-than-spectacled smile.

"Has everything been to your liking, my love?" he asked smoothly.

Ann chuckled warmly. "Like a dream come true." she confirmed, planting a kiss on her groom's lips. "Did I ever mention how much I'm in love with you?"

All throughout their shared vows and officiation ( _"I object!' Is that really so hard for any of you morons to say?!")_ of their union, Makoto wore an odd, seemingly-haughty expression with an angled, upward glance, as though she had noticed an offensive scent or attempting to keep herself from tearing up. In a sense, both were technically true. Fortunately for her, she sat directly behind Ms. Kawakami who apparently had a tendency cry at highly-emotional events. Thank goodness for small favors, at least.

But it was only at the reception and the dinner particularly that Makoto found herself reaching her limit, particularly when the time came for the guests of honor to toast to the couple, the first speaker seemingly on the brink of tearing up herself.

_"Thank you b-both so much for everything. All you've done for me over the years, I owe you two my life. I'm honored to give away the most wonderful woman in the world in marriage."_

_"Gotta admit; when we first met, I thought you were just some punk kid I was stuck with for a year. But everything since then has shown me you've grown into one hell of a man."_

_"You taught me so much about life, the world, and myself, even when I wouldn't give you a chance. Thank you so much."_

_"You taught me that life knocking you down doesn't make you a loser; staying down makes you one- aw, geez, ma! It's sparkling grape juice!"_

_"I'm looking forward to seeing what paths you take, my little guinea pig. And just FYI, if you're ever looking for a little something to make the missus' night a little more interesting, just give me a call."_

It was rather fortunate the tributes to the bride and groom (as well as their sickeningly-sweet speech to one another) concluded when they did. True enough, it was a selfish thought, she knew, but forcing oneself to keep a semi-straight face throughout two hours of what was one of the most painful experiences of one's life was never exactly easy, every little affectionate gesture shared by the Trickster and his bride like another pinprick of white-hot needles to her soul. Needless to say, Makoto was in no mood to subject herself to any more of their real-life fairy tale. And Akira was well-aware of the rather whimsical nature of the occasion, smiling at the blonde as he stood and took his hand in hers. "May I have this dance, my queen?" he asked smoothly.

Ann simply giggled in cheerful anticipation, accepting her husband's hand to be whisked away to the ballroom floor. The lights already dimming and a slow, romantic instrumental track being put on, Makoto sighed in annoyance, deciding to make herself as scarce as possible without actually leaving the hotel. _But she's been giving you SO much more that, you freaking lecher!_

Of course, at almost any sort of of celebration where the vast majority of the guests are adults, there was almost always a type of entertainer whose job description included listening to their patrons' woes- in addition plying them their liquor. Dropping herself onto one of the bar stools across the room, Makoto sighed once again. "I need a drink."

The bartender, an older man of indeterminate age clad in somewhat-outdated evening wear and dark sunglasses, smiled oddly. "Of course, ma'am." he answered. "What would you like?"

"Don't care. Just keep it coming. I've had a LONG day."

And drink Makoto did; a strong, bitter-tasting liquor, the origin of which she neither knew nor really cared. And the more she drank, the more sullen and envious she became. After all this time of knowing, she could still not, for the life of her, comprehend why and how he saw Ann as a superior mate to her. She was on the brink of having the godamned world in her hand! While he obviously did not mean it in that way (or he was an even bigger bastard than she'd given him credit for), his casual designation of the blonde as his queen irked Makoto endlessly. It just wasn't fucking fair!

"Another one." Makoto demanded blankly.

The barman, while mixing another drink for her gingerly, looked upon her with mild concern. "You know, you've been drinking quite a bit." he reminded. "You may want to pace yourself. Sure you haven't had enough for now?"

Her jealousy and frustration having been bubbling all evening, Makoto was not having any of it. "I will fucking TELL you when I've had enough!" she growled fiercely, immediately regretting it. "S-sorry, I-I've had a really rough day. I didn't mean to snap at you, Mr- I'm sorry, I don't know your-"

"No need to apologize, I've been subject to far worse. And my name- Hmm...just call me Tom. So, what seems to be the problem?"

"No offense, Mr. Tom, but I kind of doubt you'd understand."

"Oh, I'd think I'd understand a fair bit more than you'd give me credit for. But perhaps she would? After all, she does seem to know you."

So caught up in her self-pity party, Makoto scarcely noticed the woman who had literally finished raising her in the immediate area before she sat on the stool to her left. "There you are!" Sae remarked. "You just took off after dinner. Is everything alright?"

 _Let's see, my bosses are putting me under more pressure even at this level thanks to you and dad, the only man I ever loved blew me off for some blonde American bimbo, and I'm going to end up a lonely old maid with twenty cats! So no, Sae, everything is not fucking alright!_ "N-no, I'm fine, sis." Makoto lied weakly.

It was always exceptionally difficult, if not impossible for her to lie to Sae's face, so it was not surprising that Makoto only made eye contact with the bar. Of course, she'd technically seen her wearing that very same dress (albeit with a significantly lower back and neckline), but the disbelieving expression her sister wore told her the lie was even weaker than she'd thought. "Are you sure, Makoto?" she inquired suspiciously, still aware of just how stubborn her little sister was. "Even though you're not a kid anymore, you don't need to hesitate to ask me for anything."

"Tom" gave a violent, exaggerated cough sounding suspiciously like "to your left," as if he was aware of Makoto's floundering and attempting to give her an out. "Yes, I'm sure, Sae." she insisted falsely, one eye on the bored-looking, red-haired woman. "Go on, go dance with your girlfriend. She looks pretty bored."

"Well, if you're sure."

Sae managed a gentle smile at the sight of the master artist and his muse gliding along the floor to the music, more than a little intrigued by his ability to slow dance, the wooden _geta_ on his feet creating an interesting sound against the dance floor. "Odd as he is, I'm glad Kitagawa could bring that poor girl some happiness." she said. "Awful, just awful what she had to go through."

"Yeah, they are good together." agreed Makoto bitterly. _Matricide pacts tend to do that for relationships, I've heard._

 

At Sae chatting a bit with the redhead before joining the other couples on the dance floor, Makoto, her eyes darting around the ballroom at the other couples like some bored bird of prey, sighed.

_"It is true what they say about pregnant women, my love. You really are even more radiant than usual."_

_"T-thank you, my champion."_

_"Yeah, this takes me back. But back in the day, we REALLY knew how to throw an afterparty, if you get my meaning."_

_"Yeah, you're interesting, don't get me wrong, but I'm not really looking for a sugar daddy. I make quite a bit on my own."_

_"Erm...your aura...it's rather...unusual...Extremely unusual, actually."_

_"A dog person?! Never! They're a bunch of freaking weirdos!"  
_

_"Hey...this ain't really my thing...but what'd'ya know about college entrance exams?...I wanna help my boy, but-"_

_"Oh! Well, there are plenty of programs for this kind of thing."_

_"Ow! That's the fourth time tonight, Ryuji! You have two left feet or something?! Or two left hooves?!"_

_"You ain't exactly makin' it any easier, you know!"_

Naturally, Makoto took interest in the one couple that made her greener with envy than the finest emerald.

_"From the second I saw you, I knew we were meant to be together, my queen."_

_"Hee hee, I told you our love was something out of this world!"_

Once again, Makoto sighed heavily. "I need a freaking drink."

Tom complied with the order _sans_ sass, taking some of Makoto's spent glasses behind the bar. Granted, the alcohol did help to momentarily numb the pain at her isolation, yet somehow managed to end up drawing her deeper into that very particular haze, lightly slamming her face onto the bar in frustration, before turning back to the dancing couples. "I just don't get it!" she moaned. "I'm an amazing potential mate! What does she possibly have that I don't?! I mean, apart from blonde hair, blue eyes, and big- well, you know."

"You want my take on it?" the barman asked rhetorically. "I've been following- observing- er, seen enough of these two to discern something about them."

"So, you've witnessed them _in flagrante_ as well? Because that's the only thing that comes to mind."

The mystery "man" pushed his shades further onto the bridge of his nose. "Not really, but it's definitely related." he teased. "More than anything, it's that they're honest with each other and communicate. And yes, that includes about sex, as well."

"They...communicate? Really?! That's your big mystery at the heart of romantic relationships?!"

"Well, of course. You're a bright young lass, think about it. Trust me, I've seen plenty of relationships die from a lack of effective communication. Even worse are the ones built around a fundamental lie. Yes, sir, those ones especially are just asking- begging for trouble."

"Who exactly do you think you are, sir? Some kind of all-seeing, all-knowing god of relationships?"

Naturally, the rational, reasonable part of her knew that he was absolutely correct. But Makoto did not _want_ to be reasonable or rational for once in her life! More than anything, childish as she knew it to be, she wished simply for another soul to see the sheer unfairness of the situation and agree with her! That this kind, intelligent, charismatic, fucking gorgeous man would completely overlook her in favor of the woman whom she consciously loved like a sister, but another part of Makoto did not see as even worthy to be her domestic help at the very best.

And the absolute worst part of it all? None of the individuals she'd come to trust so much and open up to could _ever_ understand. Not Morgana with his newfound life of debauchery. Nor Yusuke off in Yusukeland, slaying "demons" for his queen. As far as Makoto was concerned, the less she knew about inner workings of Futaba's mind, the better and Ryuji, even being generous, did not exactly have a lot going on upstairs. Oh, but especially, _ESPECIALLY_ that spectacled deceiver and his blonde lilith, with their damned fairy tale, could ever possibly understand. They could just go straight to hell as far as she was concerned. Not even the most gentle, empathetic member of their group could really understand!

"Er... _Mako-chan_...are you alright?" inquired Haru, taking the free stool to her left. "Y-you've kind of...well, been avoiding everyone."

 _Even Ryuji could have figured that out, Haru._ "You must have been imagining it, Haru." answered Makoto blankly. "What did you need?"

Haru inhaled anxiously, taking a moment before resuming. "Y-you know, everyone's on the dance floor," she rambled. "a-and maybe- What I'm a-asking is-"

The notification tone on Haru's phone dinged conspicuously, sighing in exasperation as she glanced at the message's origin. "Eighty text messages in the past hour? How did he even get my personal number...again...?"

_Oh, Haru...why are you so kind...you're too kind for your own good..._

Haru rose from the stool, ambling about as she set about deleting the messages from the alcohol abuser of whom she was not nearly as fond. No sooner was Haru out of earshot did another neglected soul take the place at her right. "Hey, it's _Niijima-senpai_!" Mishima said collegially, more than a little nervousness in his tone. "How the hell have you been?!"

 _Goddamned miserable, exactly how I look, you little twerp._ "F-fine." Makoto lied once more. "Just...busy. You know, work and everything."

"Yeah, it's a killer."

"So....how is that IT company of yours?"

"Well, things are looking kinda rocky right now; one of our big investors just got nailed for fraud the other month. But me and the guys are actually kind of optimistic. Cautiously, I mean."

Hm, optimism. There was a word she'd not given any real thought in a while, Makoto thought. Not that she'd ever admit it to anyone outside of a psychiatrist and possibly Sae were she more than slightly tipsy, but for Makoto, even this little...guy was starting to look good in comparison to becoming the old lady with only her thousand cats to keep her company.

**Author's Note:**

> I know I said this series was finished, but sometimes you just get a flash of inspiration, you know?  
> Once again, nothing against Makoto at all; I just feel like the life events adults go through would make someone with Makoto's high-strung, intense personality a WAY more interesting character, something I think I've made pretty clear with this series already. With that said, I do feel like she struggled with grey areas as far as personal issues (hell, just look at the synonyms for "deceiver" and "lilith"), which isn't uncommon for younger people.


End file.
